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Apple has lost its appeal against a UK ruling that Samsung had not infringed its design rights.A judge at the High Court in London had originally ruled in July that the look of Samsung's Galaxy Tab computers was not too similar to designs registered in connection with the iPad.He said at the time that Samsung's devices were not as "cool" because they lacked Apple's "extreme simplicity".He also ordered Apple to run ads saying Samsung had not infringed its rights.Judge Birss said one notice should remain on Apple's website for at least half a year while other adverts should be placed in various magazines and newspapers to "correct the damaging impression" that Samsung was a copycat.A spokeswoman for Samsung said it welcomed the latest ruling.
"We continue to believe that Apple was not the first to design a tablet with a rectangular shape and rounded corners and that the origins of Apple's registered design features can be found in numerous examples of prior art."Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims in other countries based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited.". Apple has not released a statement.Three judges were involved in the Court of Appeal review of the case.
Apple had reasserted its claim saying that the front face and overall shape of the tablets was the most important factor — rather than the overall design — because users would spend most of their time looking at a tablet's screen and holding it.One of the judges — who noted he owned an iPad himself — explained why Apple had lost the appeal in his ruling."Because this case (and parallel cases in other countries) has generated much publicity, it will avoid confusion to say what this case is about and not about," wrote Sir Robin Jacob."It is not about whether Samsung copied Apple's iPad. Infringement of a registered design does not involve any question of whether there was copying: the issue is simply whether the accused design is too close to the registered design according to the tests laid down in the law." "So this case is all about, and only about, Apple's registered design and the Samsung products.""Link to Original Source